cable splitter? or cable tap?
cable splitter? or cable tap?
wondering if anyone would know if a cable splitter or cable tap... what's the difference? and which one would be better if my cable is to be splitted up to my cable modem and cable box?
Don't know what a tap is? But my experiences with my cable being split 3 ways is no depreciation in signal strength or speed in my connects
@home stated parameters--1500 down, 128 up. My average is 2500 down, 500 up. TV reception clear!
Sort through the various tweaks and suggestions carefully, most are helpful. BUT ALWAYS BACKUP FIRST!!!
@home stated parameters--1500 down, 128 up. My average is 2500 down, 500 up. TV reception clear!
Sort through the various tweaks and suggestions carefully, most are helpful. BUT ALWAYS BACKUP FIRST!!!
When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge. - Albert Einstein -
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rodrod5
- Regular Member
- Posts: 441
- Joined: Sat Oct 14, 2000 12:00 am
- Location: from Houston in dALLAS
see this diagram....a tap is a connection on the "plant" the cable COs. lines outside your house
a splitter is just the cheap thing you use inside our residence to split the connection to more than 1 TV. or a TV. and modem ect
you need a splitter
http://www.cabledatacomnews.com/cmic/diagram.html
:2cool: 
a splitter is just the cheap thing you use inside our residence to split the connection to more than 1 TV. or a TV. and modem ect
you need a splitter
http://www.cabledatacomnews.com/cmic/diagram.html
:2cool: -
rodrod5
- Regular Member
- Posts: 441
- Joined: Sat Oct 14, 2000 12:00 am
- Location: from Houston in dALLAS
Tap
A tap is a device which splits off a portion of the feeder line signal for the subscriber
http://www.cablelabs.com/news_room/glossary2.html
A tap is a device which splits off a portion of the feeder line signal for the subscriber
http://www.cablelabs.com/news_room/glossary2.html
There are also DCs (Directional Couplers) or 'Mini-taps' which pretty much do the same thing as a regular tap on the feeder line. Just as an example, if you have a DC-6 mini-tap, there are three legs: an in-leg, an out-leg, and a tap. The out-leg normally will lose around 1 - 2 dB in signal strength. The tap leg will lose 6 dB (hence the DC-6 terminology)...we've got mini-taps all the way up to DC-29 (although we rarely use anything above 23) and most of the time mini-taps are used in situations like hotels where a closed loop system is set up for the cable.
As far as using them with the cable modem, some installers and technicians will use the mini-taps in place of a two or three way splitter to increase the amount of signal to the modem if the signal to the back of the modem is borderline to begin with. By using the out leg to the modem, you gain some signal strength as opposed to using a standard two or three way split.
Other situations where a mini tap may be used is in a house with more than 5 or 6 outlets hooked up. A mini tap will be placed before the main split, with the outleg going to the modem, and the tap leg going to the splitter feeding the rest of the outlets in the house. We have DCs as small as DC-4 (4 dB on the tap leg)...
As far as using them with the cable modem, some installers and technicians will use the mini-taps in place of a two or three way splitter to increase the amount of signal to the modem if the signal to the back of the modem is borderline to begin with. By using the out leg to the modem, you gain some signal strength as opposed to using a standard two or three way split.
Other situations where a mini tap may be used is in a house with more than 5 or 6 outlets hooked up. A mini tap will be placed before the main split, with the outleg going to the modem, and the tap leg going to the splitter feeding the rest of the outlets in the house. We have DCs as small as DC-4 (4 dB on the tap leg)...
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“The most beautiful thing we can experience in life is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: for his eyes are closed.” - Albert Einstein
“The most beautiful thing we can experience in life is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: for his eyes are closed.” - Albert Einstein
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NotFastEnough
- Regular Member
- Posts: 416
- Joined: Sun May 06, 2001 12:00 am
- Location: Monroe, Louisiana USA
A cable tap is the point where a cable drop connects to the service line... the tap might be up a pole or in a pedestal on the ground. From the tap the drop runs to your home, either in the air or underground.
When the drop reaches your house splitters are used to split the signal from the single line drop into the multiple lines that run to the various TV sets, digital boxes, and cable modems that you have in your house.
If you are using ONLY a cable modem and are not recieving TV service from your cable company you will find a ground block at the end of the drop instead of a splitter. A ground block is basically a straight through barrel type connector with provision for a ground wire. Cable needs to be grounded at the "first splitter..." so if there is no splitter a ground block has to be used to provide a grounding location. A ground block has the lowest dB loss (almost none) of any type of splitter, as it is really not a splitter.
Every time you split a line there is a drop in signal. This drop is measured in dBs. A ground block has almost no loss. A 2- way splitter drops fewer dBs to each leg than a 3- way splitter. A 3- way splitter drops fewer dBs to each leg than a 4- way, and so on. The more legs a splitter has, the greater the dB drop to each leg is.
The "ideal" setup for a cable modem would be a seperate drop from the tap to a ground block, and from the ground block to a line into your home directly to your cable modem. This would provide the cleanest possible signal to your cable modem. Unfortunately, the cable company will not run a seperate drop just for your modem! The only way to achieve this set-up would be to cancel your cable TV service and become a "cable modem only" customer. Otherwise, remember, you have to have splitters to get that signal to multiple points in your home!
The solution is to put a 2- way splitter IN FRONT OF the existing splitter. That setup looks like this... from the tap the drop enters the 2- way splitter. One leg of the 2- way splitter will "feed" the cable signal into whatever splitter you are using now. The second leg of the 2- way splitter will run a line directly to your cable modem. This will give you the cleanest possible signal to your cable modem with the lowest dB loss.
IF you or your installer choose not to run an additional line see Indy's post regarding Directional Couplers. We usually only use these in apartments or " housing projects" where we aren't allowed (thank GOD!) to run a new dedicated line to the cable modem. We also use DCs in the rare situations where the signal is too strong for the cable modem to lock, as running from the "tap" leg of the DC to the modem allows us to drop the signal to acceptable levels.
Now I'm sure you know more about cable installation that you ever wanted to... back to your regularly scheduled programming!
When the drop reaches your house splitters are used to split the signal from the single line drop into the multiple lines that run to the various TV sets, digital boxes, and cable modems that you have in your house.
If you are using ONLY a cable modem and are not recieving TV service from your cable company you will find a ground block at the end of the drop instead of a splitter. A ground block is basically a straight through barrel type connector with provision for a ground wire. Cable needs to be grounded at the "first splitter..." so if there is no splitter a ground block has to be used to provide a grounding location. A ground block has the lowest dB loss (almost none) of any type of splitter, as it is really not a splitter.
Every time you split a line there is a drop in signal. This drop is measured in dBs. A ground block has almost no loss. A 2- way splitter drops fewer dBs to each leg than a 3- way splitter. A 3- way splitter drops fewer dBs to each leg than a 4- way, and so on. The more legs a splitter has, the greater the dB drop to each leg is.
The "ideal" setup for a cable modem would be a seperate drop from the tap to a ground block, and from the ground block to a line into your home directly to your cable modem. This would provide the cleanest possible signal to your cable modem. Unfortunately, the cable company will not run a seperate drop just for your modem! The only way to achieve this set-up would be to cancel your cable TV service and become a "cable modem only" customer. Otherwise, remember, you have to have splitters to get that signal to multiple points in your home!
The solution is to put a 2- way splitter IN FRONT OF the existing splitter. That setup looks like this... from the tap the drop enters the 2- way splitter. One leg of the 2- way splitter will "feed" the cable signal into whatever splitter you are using now. The second leg of the 2- way splitter will run a line directly to your cable modem. This will give you the cleanest possible signal to your cable modem with the lowest dB loss.
IF you or your installer choose not to run an additional line see Indy's post regarding Directional Couplers. We usually only use these in apartments or " housing projects" where we aren't allowed (thank GOD!) to run a new dedicated line to the cable modem. We also use DCs in the rare situations where the signal is too strong for the cable modem to lock, as running from the "tap" leg of the DC to the modem allows us to drop the signal to acceptable levels.
Now I'm sure you know more about cable installation that you ever wanted to... back to your regularly scheduled programming!
Fast Enough? Never!
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NotFastEnough
- Regular Member
- Posts: 416
- Joined: Sun May 06, 2001 12:00 am
- Location: Monroe, Louisiana USA
Oh yeah...
Indy... I sure wish we had some DC-4s! Lot's of apartment people complain about the degredation on their TVs with the DC-6s that we use!
Who do you work for?
Who do you work for?
Fast Enough? Never!
I work for Comcast...DC-4's are a hard item to get your hands on around here...the warehouse is usually out of them... 
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“The most beautiful thing we can experience in life is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: for his eyes are closed.” - Albert Einstein
“The most beautiful thing we can experience in life is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: for his eyes are closed.” - Albert Einstein
sooo.........
hmmmm.. well, know i know a ton about caps as well. but what happens if i remove mine? i'm not gonna try - yet but i'm just curios as to what would happen.
-bump!
but i'm just curios as to what would happen.-bump!
Just for reference...128 kbit = 16 kbyte (upload cap)...so both of you are right around the right markOriginally posted by SlayeR1
Holy ****, ****in @home dosent let medownload or upload that fast! Damn 15K upload cap....
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“The most beautiful thing we can experience in life is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: for his eyes are closed.” - Albert Einstein
“The most beautiful thing we can experience in life is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: for his eyes are closed.” - Albert Einstein
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albee
Thanks I have a few questions:NotFastEnough wrote:
The solution is to put a 2- way splitter IN FRONT OF the existing splitter. That setup looks like this... from the tap the drop enters the 2- way splitter. One leg of the 2- way splitter will "feed" the cable signal into whatever splitter you are using now. The second leg of the 2- way splitter will run a line directly to your cable modem. This will give you the cleanest possible signal to your cable modem with the lowest dB loss.
Can running the cable like you said allow doing away with the ground block? In other words bring the main line in to the box and directly in to a directional tap. Then 'Out' to the modem, 'Tap' to the tele? The taps I have allow and have a ground screw.
One other question concerning directional taps. Does the Out loss correspond with the Tap loss? i.e. is the Out loss different between a -4 and a -9?